NEVER FORGET — M.J. Rosenbloom brought to my attention that 102-year-old Holocaust survivor Abe Meth was pictured in the Jewish News in Phoenix. Rosenbloom said Meth moved here from Hungary in 1948 and lived here until the mid-70s, when he moved to Arizona. While he lived here, Meth served in many capacities at Congregation Beth Shalom. Meth is pictured speaking at an April 12 interfaith Yom HaShoah service, where he discussed his work with Raoul Wallenberg, who saved thousands of Jews in Nazi-era Hungary.
ISRAELI TRUMPETER TO PERFORM AT TAKE FIVE COFFEE BAR — Avishai Cohen, who I am told comes from a top jazz family in Israel, will be performing at Take Five Coffee Bar in Corbin Park at 135th and Metcalf on Thursday, May 14. {mprestriction ids="1,3"}Bill Schlozman reports his family is often referred to as “the Marsalis family of Israel!” For this performance there will be no reserved seats and tickets will be sold beginning six hours prior to the performance. For more information visit takefivecoffeebar.com, call 913-948-5550 or email .
ADL RECOGNIZES CRISTO REY — Tomorrow, Friday, May 8, Cristo Rey Kansas City will achieve designation by the Anti-Defamation League as a No Place for Hate®. Cristo Rey is a private, Catholic, college preparatory high school that incorporates a corporate work study program for culturally diverse students with economic need. Over this past school year the student body studied and took action on issues of bigotry and discrimination that affect students, the community and the nation.
ADL’s No Place for Hate® provides schools and communities with an organizing framework for combating bias, bullying and hatred, leading to long-term solutions for creating and maintaining a positive climate.
CHANGE OF VENUE SOUGHT IN SHOOTING CASE — Multiple media outlets reported last week that a change of venue has been requested in the case of Frazier Glenn Cross Jr., also known as Frazier Glenn Miller. He is accused of shooting three people last April, two in the parking lot of the Jewish Community Campus and one outside of Village Shalom.
The change of venue request by Cross’ attorneys was made at a pre-trial hearing on April 30. The Kansas City Star reports the request was made due to extensive publicity in the case.
The next court date is set for May 14. He is charged with capital murder and prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
PROTESTERS IN TEL AVIV CALL FOR ISRAEL TO LEGALIZE MARIJUANA, TEL AVIV (JTA) — Some 1,000 protesters gathered at Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square called on Israel to legalize marijuana.
Dubbed the “Cannabis March” by organizers, the protest on the night of May 1 began near the district courthouse in the Israeli city and ended at the central square. Several politicians and activists addressed the crowd there between musical performances and poetry readings.
Among the speakers were Tamar Zandberg of the left-wing Meretz party, and Knesset lawmakers Yinon Magal and Miki Zohar of the right-wing Jewish Home and Likud parties, respectively. Former Likud Knesset member Moshe Feiglin, an outspoken proponent of legalization, also spoke.
“This is something less dangerous than a cigarette and less addictive than a glass of whiskey,” Feiglin told the crowd. “We need to step out of this fear and make this a country of freedom.”
The march coincided with parallel events in cities around the world calling for marijuana legalization.
Recreational cannabis consumption is a criminal offense in Israel. Medical cannabis is legal, but patients must go through an often lengthy process to obtain it. A handful of Israeli politicians across parties have called for medical cannabis to be made more accessible, with some advocating decriminalization or full legalization.
Meretz is the only party in the Knesset pushing for marijuana legalization. A 2014 poll showed that a majority of Israelis opposed legalizing soft drugs, while a third supported legalization, according to the Israeli news website Mako.
At the event, attendees waved green flags, while others wore cutouts shaped like marijuana leaves. No one appeared to be smoking marijuana at the event, though one attendee handed out packs of rolling paper.{/mprestriction}
